Austin has always had good food. But 2026 feels different. The city's restaurant scene has crossed a threshold — from regional standout to genuine national contender — and the new openings of the past twelve months are the evidence. Chefs who trained in New York, Tokyo, and Copenhagen are choosing Austin not as a fallback but as a destination. The dining rooms are more ambitious, the wine lists more considered, the service more polished. What follows is ACE's guide to the ten best new restaurants in Austin for 2026, organized by the neighborhoods that define the city's culinary geography.

1. Kōen — East Austin
The most talked-about opening of the year is a 22-seat omakase counter on East Cesar Chavez, where chef Hiroshi Tanaka — a Nobu and Uchi veteran — serves a 14-course menu that fuses Japanese technique with Texas ingredients. The wagyu tataki uses beef from a Hill Country ranch. The dashi is made with Gulf shrimp shells. The result is something that feels entirely new and entirely right. Reservations open 30 days in advance and are gone within hours. Price: $195 per person, beverage pairing additional.

2. Brasero — South Congress
The wood-fired Mediterranean concept from the team behind the beloved but now-closed Lenoir has taken up residence in a converted bungalow on South Congress, and the transition from farm-to-table to open-flame cooking has been seamless. The lamb shoulder, slow-roasted over mesquite for six hours, is the dish of the year. The natural wine list is the best in the city. The covered patio, strung with Edison bulbs and surrounded by heritage oaks, is exactly what South Congress dining should feel like. Price: $$.

3. Marisol — Rainey Street
Rainey Street's bar-heavy reputation has long made it an unlikely destination for serious dining, but Marisol is changing that. The coastal Mexican kitchen from chef Valentina Cruz — who spent three years cooking in Oaxaca before returning to her native Austin — serves ceviches, tostadas, and whole-fish preparations that are as technically precise as anything in the city. The mezcal program is exceptional. The rooftop terrace has the best view of the downtown skyline of any restaurant in Austin. Price: $$.

4. Sable — Downtown
The most formally ambitious restaurant to open in Austin in years occupies a ground-floor space in a new hotel on Second Street, and it makes no apologies for its aspirations. The tasting menu — eight courses, $175 per person — is built around Texas's seasonal larder, interpreted through a French fine-dining lens. The dining room is hushed, the service is impeccable, and the sommelier's pairings are worth every penny of the supplement. This is the restaurant Austin has needed to prove it can compete at the highest level. Price: $$.

5. Comadre — East Austin
The most joyful restaurant on this list is a 40-seat Tex-Mex kitchen on East Sixth that chef Maria Gutierrez describes as "the food my grandmother made, if my grandmother had staged at Cosme." The enchiladas suizas are transcendent. The margaritas are made with fresh-pressed juice and good tequila. The playlist is perfect. Comadre is the rare restaurant that manages to be both deeply serious about its food and genuinely fun to be in. Price: $.

6. Forager — Mueller
The Mueller neighborhood's dining scene has lagged behind its residential growth for years, but Forager — a vegetable-forward kitchen from two Uchiko alumni — is the anchor it has been waiting for. The menu changes weekly based on what the kitchen's network of Central Texas farms is producing, and the results are consistently surprising. The roasted beet with whipped goat cheese and pistachio dukkah has become a neighborhood institution in less than a year. Price: $$.

7. The Drover — West Austin
The steakhouse is a genre that Austin has always done well, and The Drover — a new entry from a hospitality group with roots in Dallas — raises the bar considerably. The dry-aged Texas longhorn program is the centerpiece, with cuts aged in-house for 45 to 90 days and finished over a custom wood-burning grill. The sides are not afterthoughts: the creamed corn with smoked butter and the roasted bone marrow with sourdough are as good as anything on the menu. Price: $$.

8. Pho Saigon Moi — North Loop
The North Loop neighborhood's eclectic dining strip gained its best new tenant this year with the opening of Pho Saigon Moi, a Vietnamese kitchen from a family that has been cooking in Austin for two generations. The pho broth — simmered for 18 hours with charred ginger and star anise — is the standard against which all other Austin pho should be measured. The banh mi, served on bread baked in-house, is equally exceptional. Price: $.

9. Cava Negra — South Lamar
The Spanish wine bar concept has found its ideal Austin expression in this intimate 30-seat room on South Lamar, where the focus is on small producers from Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Canary Islands. The pintxos are made to order and change with the seasons. The cheese and charcuterie program draws from both Spanish imports and Texas artisan producers. Cava Negra is the kind of place that becomes a weekly habit within a month of discovery. Price: $.

10. Ember & Rye — Domain Northside
The Domain's dining scene has historically skewed toward national chains, but Ember & Rye — a modern American grill from a chef who spent a decade in Chicago's fine-dining circuit — is a genuine destination. The wood-grilled branzino with preserved lemon and herbs is the sleeper hit of the year. The whiskey program, with an emphasis on Texas distilleries, is the best in North Austin. For diners in the northern reaches of the city, Ember & Rye is the restaurant they have been waiting for. Price: $$.

Austin's restaurant scene in 2026 is defined by ambition, diversity, and a confidence that no longer needs to qualify itself against coastal comparisons. These ten tables are not good for Austin. They are simply good — full stop. Make your reservations early.